Eldorado prices, firms; Foresight, Quantum deals on tap; market firms after Fed rate move

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, March 15 – After a one-session pause, the dollar-denominated high-yield market was back in operation on Wednesday, pricing one new fully junk-rated deal – gaming operator Eldorado Resorts Inc.’s $375 million of eight-year notes.

No U.S.-dollar-denominated junk paper had priced during Tuesday’s completely Eurocentric session, while Monday had seen some $1.945 billion of such paper get done in four tranches from two domestic issuers.

Traders said that the new Eldorado bonds firmed smartly in active dealings when they hit the aftermarket – in contrast to the sparse price moves that most of the recent new issues have shown.

Besides the deal which actually priced, syndicate sources said two other junk offerings were waiting in the wings, with pricing seen possible, if not likely, on Thursday – coal operator Foresight Energy LLC’s $500 million seven-year secured deal, and Canadian precious and industrial metals miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd.’s $1.6 billion two-part transaction.

In the secondary market, traders saw a broad upturn following the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a quarter-point rise in its key benchmark interest rate, an upside move which had been widely expected and which was accompanied by commentary considered by many to be less hawkish than anticipated.

Even names recently seen under pressure, such as embattled Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and oil and natural gas credits such as California Resources Corp. and EP Energy Corp. were solidly higher on busy volume.

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